Middle East Times

Steve Coll in the Middle East Times | 'October Surprise?'

Communications — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:57:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Steve Coll, president of the New America Foundation and author of several books on al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, spoke with The Atlantic magazine about the possibility of a terrorist attack to correspond with the U.S. presidential election.

Though he ruled out a major attack on U.S. soil or associated targets, Coll said the potential exists for al-Qaida media releases and attacks in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

"They like to be heard at big moments in American politics, and this campaign is certainly such a moment," he said. LINK

Daniel Levy in Middle East Times on Annapolis Peace Conference

Communications — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:20:00 -0500

New America in the News:

There is plenty of skepticism, much of it well founded, about the prospects for the Middle East peace conference planned for Annapolis, MD at the end of this month, as well as a host of question marks. Even the date of the summit and when invitations will be sent out are unclear at the time of writing. Many fear the meeting will be underprepared, and that failure will launch another round of violence.

However, there is another side to the balance sheet that is worth laying out. It has become clear that the conference will not be an all-or-nothing affair and may not even address the key final issues - borders, settlements, Jerusalem, and refugees - directly. Rather, it will lay out a process and timetable for addressing those issues during the remainder of the George W. Bush presidency. And President Bush is starting on this process slightly earlier than former president Bill Clinton did during his second term. ...

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has spoken, albeit cautiously, of the prospect of "real accomplishments, perhaps even before the end of President Bush's term in office." The Palestinians would like to see firmer commitment to address final issues according to a very specific timetable, but there is a basis for negotiation here. ...

Daniel Levy, of the New America Foundation, who was part of the Israeli negotiating team at Taba in 2001, argues that Olmert has a better negotiating position than ex-premier Ehud Barak did at the start of the Camp David talks in July 2000. Barak opened with a proposal to annex 17 percent of the West Bank and, in negotiation, offered various plans that would annex 11 percent to 12 percent of the area. The contentious Israeli separation barrier encloses only 8.5 percent of the West Bank. ...

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Ghaith al-Omari and Daniel Levy in Middle East Times Analysis

Communications — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:47:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Participants at the 2007 DACOR conference on the Middle East recently heatedly debated the "frying pan of Iraq, the fire of the Israel and Palestinian conflict."

The Iraq panel discussed the increasing fragmentation within the Arab country, agreeing that tribal affinities would color the future Iraqi economic and geopolitical landscape. ...

Meanwhile, early prognoses on the proposed Annapolis Middle East peace conference ruled the discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict panel.

Ghaith Al Omari, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, maintained that the Annapolis summit, without a durable peace process and the diplomatic participation of surrounding Arab states, could not achieve its lofty objectives.

David Levy, a senior fellow and director of the Middle East Programs at the New American Foundation and The Century Foundation, also listed conditions for success at Annapolis, MD. In addition to a viable political process, Levy pointed to the need for the U.S. to present bridging proposals to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together. However, Levy also stressed the need for genuine American initiatives. "If the American ideas, when you unwrap them, start singing 'Hava Nagila,' then they're not American ideas and they don't help Israel either." ...

For the complete article, please follow this link.